Archive for the ‘News’ Category

President Obama named him one of four Democrats who represented the future of the Democratic Party and the New York Times ran a column saying that he could be the nation’s “first gay President.”

South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, a rising national star among Democrats, will be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Gala presented by United, set to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 2 at the Hilton Chicago.

This year’s Gala is chaired by community leader Nabeela Rasheed and is on track to be one of our most successful and vibrant yet! Each year we award inspirational leaders and organizations whose selfless work helps create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. This year for their dedication to social justice and equality, Channyn Lynne Parker of Howard Brown’s Broadway Youth Center, and Danny Wirtz the Vice-Chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group will be the recipients of the 2019 Equality Illinois Freedom Award. The Equality Illinois Organization Leadership Award, given annually to organizations that demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the efforts to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals in Illinois, will be presented to Illinois AFL-CIO.

With the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans under attack by the Trump Administration and the urgent need to continue our pro-equality progress in the City of Chicago, LGBTQ Chicagoans need to know where the candidates for mayor stand on the many issues of interest and importance to our lives.

LGBTQ community organizations Affinity Community Services, the Association of Latinos/as Motivating Action, the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, the Equality Illinois Institute, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Pride Action Tank, and the Windy City Times are hosting the LGBTQ Forum with the Mayoral Candidates at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 19, 2019, at the Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan Avenue, in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.

Please join us at this important public forum. To attend, please RSVP by clicking on the register button.

Can’t make it to the LGBTQ Mayoral Forum but still have questions for the candidates? Submit your questions by clicking on the question submission button.

On National Coming Out Day, when we should be celebrating the full diversity of the LGBTQ community in Illinois, Equality Illinois is extremely disappointed in the unbelievable lack of LGBTQ representation among the more than 400 appointments made by Governor Rauner to state boards and commissions during Fiscal Year 2018, the civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Illinoisans said on Thursday. Of the 431 appointments the governor made between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, only 1 appointee publicly identifies as a lesbian, gay, or bisexual person.

Seventeen leading civil rights organizations in Illinois are urging Gov. Bruce Rauner, in a letter sent to him on Tuesday, to sign legislation that would ban employment discrimination in all workplaces.

The measure, House Bill 4572, which passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support in May and is currently on the governor’s desk, would make the Illinois Human Rights Act’s workplace non-discrimination protections apply to all businesses in the state.

The organizations wrote to the governor: “At a time when anti-equality forces seek to establish licenses to discriminate and civil rights laws are under attack in state legislatures and courts across the country, signing HB 4572 would send the powerful and unmistakable message that Illinois is best and strongest when state law protects all people from discrimination. Your approval on this bill would be consistent with our state’s bipartisan values of fairness, justice, and the freedom to be who you are without burden or discrimination.”

Among larger Illinois communities, Naperville ranks last, scoring only 42 out of a possible 100 points, and Chicago is first in the state with 100 points in the 2017 Municipal Equality Index, the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy and services.

While local officials in Naperville say it is a welcoming community, the city lost points because of a lack of pro-active leadership and programs.

The survey was conducted by the Equality Federation Institute, of which Equality Illinois is a founding member, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

This week, the national Equality Federation of LGBT state organizations, of which Equality Illinois is a leading member, and a coalition of 13 other ‪‎LGBT‬, racial justice, and health equity organizations filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down draconian restrictions on abortion providers enacted by the State of Texas in 2013.

Many women, including many queer women, rely on the clinics for their reproductive and other healthcare needs.

The court will hear the case on March 2, with a ruling expected this spring.